A Colonial Wooing
him that the venture was an excellent one; his share of the profits would certainly enable him to pay his board every winter, and that would be a source of anxiety removed, for which he should be thankful.
"Why did thee let me buy the boat?" William often asked of John, for during the long winter days he found the shop a more pleasant place to spend his idle time than at Neighbor Watson's, where business continually called him, as his partner was full of projects that forever called for more of William's money as an offset to the "advantages" Matthew cunningly set forth. "I believe thee could have taken better care of my property than I have done, and thee never even advised me," William often said when they were alone.
"Thee never asked my advice, and I surely could not be expected to intrude it upon thee," John would reply; and then the poor man, who believed himself to have been victimized, would express his fears of his partner's designs, and to all this was added a sorrow of no mean measure, that Ruth would
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